at the Peachtree Corners Life Time complex in Atlanta for the start of its second mini-season .
Money has grown exponentially in the sport and the MLP Super Finals boasted a purse of $ 240,000 . The Mad Drops , winners of the season-opening event in Mesa , were ready to face who else but a Ben Johns-led Seattle Pioneers team . With teammates Etta Wright , Tyler Loong and Meghan Dizon , women ’ s doubles started off final-round action .
Parenteau is unquestionably one of the top players in the world today and her offensive exploits coupled with Tereschenko ’ s steady defensive play were just too much for the team of Wright-Dizon , beating the pair easily 21-6 , putting an exclamation point on the board for the L . A . Mad Drops .
Men ’ s doubles were next , and you could not have asked for a better match than the one played by Johns-Loong and Arnold- Wilson . Arnold , who would go on to capture MVP honors , displayed potent shot-making while Wilson captivated the crowd with exquisite defensive returns . Leads were exchanged back and forth until the game was all knotted up at 19 . Then , after an Arnold forehand winner , Wilson hammered a return back at Johns who was unable to handle it , securing the tremendous win for L . A .— putting the team up 2-0 and setting the stage for mixed doubles .
Wright was paired with the world ’ s top player in Johns while Arnold and Parenteau faced them across the net . A close match throughout , with neither team leading by more than four points , Johns was called with a foot fault that put the Mad
Chicago Slice outlasted the Bay Area Breakers for the Season One Challenger Level Championship . From left to right : Connor Garnett , Emily Ackerman , Susannah Barr and Ryler DeHeart . Photo courtesy of Major League Pickleball .
Drops up late in the game 19-16 . At 20-17 , Arnold saw an opening , crossing over in front of Parenteau and unleashing a forehand volley between Wright and Johns for the game winner .
“ With rally scoring , anything can happen . We played great , Pioneers played great . It was a hell of a battle and even though it was 3-0 , it was really close and a good fight all around , and we just let it ride as Thomas would say ,” said Arnold , captain of the Mad Drops .
The Arnold-Parenteau combo gave Johns-Wright their first loss of the tournament . “ We had a lot of energy and that ’ s when we play best ,” said Parenteau . “ Julian believes in me , and we kept pumping ourselves up in between points and that really helped us get the W at the end .”
After making the playoffs for the third straight time , the Chicago Slice finally persevered with a final win in the Challenger circuit , beating the Bay Area Breakers 21-17 in a Game 5 Dreambreaker . The Slice featured Susannah Barr , Emily Ackerman , Connor Garnett and Ryler DeHeart while the Breakers squad included Vivian Glozman , Ewa Radzikowska , Christian Alshon and Pablo Tellez .
As evidenced by its coverage on ESPN2 for the Super Finals , Major League Pickleball is now firmly entrenched as a worthy addition to the everyday sports calendar across the globe . And as more and more household names like Drew Brees join the ever-expanding roster of MLP ownership , the sport continues to defy all odds , further solidifying its role within the sports landscape . •
Drew Wathey is the author of “ A Season with Hope ,” and former director of communications for the PGA Tour ’ s Phoenix Open . Wathey is owner of SportsLink , a home-based sports public relations and marketing company . He is also a national sports anchor for iHeart Radio . His family lives in Phoenix , Arizona .
JULY / AUGUST 2023 | MAGAZINE 39